The present invention relates to an electric form handling system, an electric form handling program, a computer-readable recording medium in which the program is recorded and an electric form handling method.
A system in which an electrically written form is circulated for, for example, asking for approval of circulated persons via a computer network, namely, what is called a work flow system, is conventionally known as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-125997.
A system for circulating electric forms through the work flow is now being rapidly introduced into a variety of enterprises in order to improve the efficiency and realize a paperless system in form handling work conventionally practiced through circulation and the like of form papers. An electric form is, for example, in the case of applying for a business trip, an application that is completed by a draftsman by invoking an electric form template for a business trip, that is, a template of an electric form related to a business trip, and inputting predetermined items in the electric form template.
Also, the work flow is a system, used in an enterprise or the like, realized on a network for circulating forms and papers for approval for handling various works and making various decisions.
An enterprise has a plurality of departments such as an intellectual property department and a sales department. Necessary form formats are different among these departments. A form format is the constitution of items of an electric form template. For example, in the intellectual property department, items such as “Patent” and “Request for examination” are necessary, which are probably not necessary in the sales department. On the other hand, in the sales department, items such as “Business expenses” and “Number of persons involved in business matter” are necessary, which are probably not necessary in the intellectual property department. Also, each department has its own work system, and therefore, the program of a necessary approval route is different among the departments. The program of an approval route is a program for realizing a system for circulating an electric form for approval on a network. An approval route is a circulating route of an electric form. Accordingly, a general work flow system cannot be directly applied, and each department should independently create a form format and a program of an approval route. Furthermore, since the work system of each department covers a variety of divergences, each department should prepare a large number of electric form templates. An electric form template includes a form format and an approval route.
However, since high level IT knowledge is necessary for developing a program of an approval route, it is very difficult to develop a form format and a program of an approval route from the beginning in a department other than, for example, an information system department that is an expert in the IT.
Alternatively, an order may be placed with an IT-related firm or the like outside for creating a form format and a program of an approval route. However, the IT-related firm or the like does not sufficiently grasp the business contents of the orderer enterprise that are indispensable for the creation, and hence should first make efforts to grasp the business contents. As a result, the development takes the IT-related firm or the like a long time.
In this manner, although the information system department or an IT-related firm has high level technical knowledge necessary for creating electric form templates, it is ignorant of information on the business system of each department and hence has a difficulty in creating electric form templates according to the business system of each department. Also, a large amount of work is necessary for creating electric form templates of all the departments, and it is difficult to leave all the work to the information system department or the IT-related firm.
Alternatively, in the case where each department creates electric form templates to be used by itself, although the department has a large stock of knowledge on its business system, it does not have the knowledge necessary for creating an approval route and hence has a difficulty in creating electric form templates according to its business system.